diff --git a/src/auto_archiver/core/config.py b/src/auto_archiver/core/config.py
index 66d2ffb..0282d41 100644
--- a/src/auto_archiver/core/config.py
+++ b/src/auto_archiver/core/config.py
@@ -14,7 +14,6 @@ from loguru import logger
 from copy import deepcopy
 from auto_archiver.core.consts import MODULE_TYPES
 
-from typing import Any, List, Type, Tuple
 
 _yaml: YAML = YAML()
 
diff --git a/src/auto_archiver/core/consts.py b/src/auto_archiver/core/consts.py
index a49884f..597ce4e 100644
--- a/src/auto_archiver/core/consts.py
+++ b/src/auto_archiver/core/consts.py
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+class SetupError(ValueError):
+    pass
 
 MODULE_TYPES = [
     'feeder',
diff --git a/src/auto_archiver/core/extractor.py b/src/auto_archiver/core/extractor.py
index 484a09d..f84be98 100644
--- a/src/auto_archiver/core/extractor.py
+++ b/src/auto_archiver/core/extractor.py
@@ -81,7 +81,8 @@ class Extractor(BaseModule):
             if len(to_filename) > 64:
                 to_filename = to_filename[-64:]
         to_filename = os.path.join(self.tmp_dir, to_filename)
-        if verbose: logger.debug(f"downloading {url[0:50]=} {to_filename=}")
+        if verbose:
+            logger.debug(f"downloading {url[0:50]=} {to_filename=}")
         headers = {
             'User-Agent': 'Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/81.0.4044.138 Safari/537.36'
         }
diff --git a/src/auto_archiver/core/media.py b/src/auto_archiver/core/media.py
index 0370c00..ecaef19 100644
--- a/src/auto_archiver/core/media.py
+++ b/src/auto_archiver/core/media.py
@@ -21,14 +21,13 @@ class Media:
     Represents a media file with associated properties and storage details.
 
     Attributes:
-    - filename: The file path of the media.
-    - key: An optional identifier for the media.
+    - filename: The file path of the media as saved locally (temporarily, before uploading to the storage).
     - urls: A list of URLs where the media is stored or accessible.
     - properties: Additional metadata or transformations for the media.
     - _mimetype: The media's mimetype (e.g., image/jpeg, video/mp4).
     """
     filename: str
-    key: str = None
+    _key: str = None
     urls: List[str] = field(default_factory=list)
     properties: dict = field(default_factory=dict)
     _mimetype: str = None  # eg: image/jpeg
@@ -67,6 +66,10 @@ class Media:
         # checks if the media is already stored in the given storage
         return len(self.urls) > 0 and len(self.urls) == len(in_storage.config["steps"]["storages"])
 
+    @property
+    def key(self) -> str:
+        return self._key
+
     def set(self, key: str, value: Any) -> Media:
         self.properties[key] = value
         return self
diff --git a/src/auto_archiver/core/orchestrator.py b/src/auto_archiver/core/orchestrator.py
index b78c7e7..6a95046 100644
--- a/src/auto_archiver/core/orchestrator.py
+++ b/src/auto_archiver/core/orchestrator.py
@@ -23,15 +23,13 @@ from .config import read_yaml, store_yaml, to_dot_notation, merge_dicts, is_vali
     DefaultValidatingParser, UniqueAppendAction, AuthenticationJsonParseAction, DEFAULT_CONFIG_FILE
 from .module import ModuleFactory, LazyBaseModule
 from . import validators, Feeder, Extractor, Database, Storage, Formatter, Enricher
-from .consts import MODULE_TYPES
+from .consts import MODULE_TYPES, SetupError
 from auto_archiver.utils.url import check_url_or_raise
 
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
     from .base_module import BaseModule
     from .module import LazyBaseModule
 
-class SetupError(ValueError):
-    pass
 class ArchivingOrchestrator:
 
     # instance variables
diff --git a/src/auto_archiver/core/storage.py b/src/auto_archiver/core/storage.py
index 2a14073..4867146 100644
--- a/src/auto_archiver/core/storage.py
+++ b/src/auto_archiver/core/storage.py
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ from __future__ import annotations
 from abc import abstractmethod
 from typing import IO
 import os
+import platform
 
 from loguru import logger
 from slugify import slugify
@@ -43,17 +44,30 @@ class Storage(BaseModule):
     def uploadf(self, file: IO[bytes], key: str, **kwargs: dict) -> bool:
         """
         Uploads (or saves) a file to the storage service/location.
+
+        This method should not be called directly, but instead through the 'store' method,
+        which sets up the media for storage.
         """
         pass
 
     def upload(self, media: Media, **kwargs) -> bool:
+        """
+        Uploads a media object to the storage service.
+
+        This method should not be called directly, but instead be called through the 'store' method,
+        which sets up the media for storage.
+        """
         logger.debug(f'[{self.__class__.__name__}] storing file {media.filename} with key {media.key}')
         with open(media.filename, 'rb') as f:
             return self.uploadf(f, media, **kwargs)
 
     def set_key(self, media: Media, url: str, metadata: Metadata) -> None:
         """takes the media and optionally item info and generates a key"""
-        if media.key is not None and len(media.key) > 0: return
+        
+        if media.key is not None and len(media.key) > 0:
+            # media key is already set
+            return
+
         folder = metadata.get_context('folder', '')
         filename, ext = os.path.splitext(media.filename)
 
@@ -61,10 +75,8 @@ class Storage(BaseModule):
         path_generator = self.path_generator
         if path_generator == "flat":
             path = ""
-            # TODO: this is never used
-            filename = slugify(filename)  # Ensure filename is slugified
         elif path_generator == "url":
-            path = slugify(url)
+            path = slugify(url)[:70]
         elif path_generator == "random":
             path = random_str(24)
         else:
@@ -81,25 +93,7 @@ class Storage(BaseModule):
             filename = hd[:24]
         else:
             raise ValueError(f"Invalid filename_generator: {filename_generator}")
-
+        
         key = os.path.join(folder, path, f"{filename}{ext}")
-        if len(key) > self.max_file_length():
-            # truncate the path
-            max_path_length = self.max_file_length() - len(filename) - len(ext) - len(folder) - 1
-            path = path[:max_path_length]
-            logger.warning(f'Filename too long ({len(key)} characters), truncating to {self.max_file_length()} characters')
-            key = os.path.join(folder, path, f"{filename}{ext}")
-
-
-        media.key = key
-
-
-    def max_file_length(self) -> int:
-        """
-        Returns the maximum length of a file name that can be stored in the storage service.
-
-        Files are truncated if they exceed this length.
-        Override this method in subclasses if the storage service has a different maximum file length.
-        """
-        return 255 # safe max file length for most filesystems (macOS, Windows, Linux)
 
+        media._key = key
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/auto_archiver/modules/cli_feeder/cli_feeder.py b/src/auto_archiver/modules/cli_feeder/cli_feeder.py
index 20ca6ae..fac584d 100644
--- a/src/auto_archiver/modules/cli_feeder/cli_feeder.py
+++ b/src/auto_archiver/modules/cli_feeder/cli_feeder.py
@@ -15,7 +15,6 @@ class CLIFeeder(Feeder):
         for url in urls:
             logger.debug(f"Processing {url}")
             m = Metadata().set_url(url)
-            m.set_context("folder", "cli")
             yield m
 
         logger.success(f"Processed {len(urls)} URL(s)")
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/auto_archiver/modules/local_storage/local_storage.py b/src/auto_archiver/modules/local_storage/local_storage.py
index c07f682..6f1e217 100644
--- a/src/auto_archiver/modules/local_storage/local_storage.py
+++ b/src/auto_archiver/modules/local_storage/local_storage.py
@@ -6,37 +6,34 @@ from loguru import logger
 
 from auto_archiver.core import Media
 from auto_archiver.core import Storage
-
+from auto_archiver.core.consts import SetupError
 
 class LocalStorage(Storage):
 
-    MAX_FILE_LENGTH = 255
+
+    def setup(self) -> None:
+        if len(self.save_to) > 200:
+            raise SetupError(f"Your save_to path is  long, this will cause issues saving files on your computer. Please use a shorter path")
 
     def get_cdn_url(self, media: Media) -> str:
-        # TODO: is this viable with Storage.configs on path/filename?
-        dest = os.path.join(self.save_to, media.key)
+        dest = media.key
+
         if self.save_absolute:
             dest = os.path.abspath(dest)
         return dest
 
+    def set_key(self, media, url, metadata):
+        # clarify we want to save the file to the save_to folder
+
+        old_folder = metadata.get('folder', '')
+        metadata.set_context('folder', os.path.join(self.save_to, metadata.get('folder', '')))
+        super().set_key(media, url, metadata)
+        # don't impact other storages that might want a different 'folder' set
+        metadata.set_context('folder', old_folder)
+
     def upload(self, media: Media, **kwargs) -> bool:
         # override parent so that we can use shutil.copy2 and keep metadata
-        dest = os.path.join(self.save_to, media.key)
-
-        if len(dest) > self.max_file_length():
-            old_dest_length = len(dest)
-            filename, ext = os.path.splitext(media.key)
-            dir, filename = os.path.split(filename)
-            # see whether we should truncate filename or dir
-            if len(dir) > len(filename):
-                dir = dir[:self.MAX_FILE_LENGTH - len(self.save_to) - len(ext) - len(filename) - 1]
-            else:
-                filename = filename[:self.MAX_FILE_LENGTH - len(self.save_to) - len(ext) - len(filename) - 1]
-
-            # override media.key
-            media.key = os.path.join(dir, f"{filename}{ext}")
-            dest = os.path.join(self.save_to, dir, f"{filename}{ext}")
-            logger.warning(f'Filename too long ({old_dest_length} characters), truncating to {len(dest)} characters')
+        dest = media.key
 
         os.makedirs(os.path.dirname(dest), exist_ok=True)
         logger.debug(f'[{self.__class__.__name__}] storing file {media.filename} with key {media.key} to {dest}')
@@ -46,7 +43,5 @@ class LocalStorage(Storage):
         return True
 
     # must be implemented even if unused
-    def uploadf(self, file: IO[bytes], key: str, **kwargs: dict) -> bool: pass
-
-    def max_file_length(self):
-        return self.MAX_FILE_LENGTH
\ No newline at end of file
+    def uploadf(self, file: IO[bytes], key: str, **kwargs: dict) -> bool:
+        pass
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/auto_archiver/modules/s3_storage/s3_storage.py b/src/auto_archiver/modules/s3_storage/s3_storage.py
index c8569b6..183a944 100644
--- a/src/auto_archiver/modules/s3_storage/s3_storage.py
+++ b/src/auto_archiver/modules/s3_storage/s3_storage.py
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ class S3Storage(Storage):
                 logger.warning(f"Unable to get mimetype for {media.key=}, error: {e}")
         self.s3.upload_fileobj(file, Bucket=self.bucket, Key=media.key, ExtraArgs=extra_args)
         return True
-    
+
     def is_upload_needed(self, media: Media) -> bool:
         if self.random_no_duplicate:
             # checks if a folder with the hash already exists, if so it skips the upload
@@ -50,13 +50,13 @@ class S3Storage(Storage):
             path = os.path.join(NO_DUPLICATES_FOLDER, hd[:24])
 
             if existing_key:=self.file_in_folder(path):
-                media.key = existing_key
+                media._key = existing_key
                 media.set("previously archived", True)
                 logger.debug(f"skipping upload of {media.filename} because it already exists in {media.key}")
                 return False
             
             _, ext = os.path.splitext(media.key)
-            media.key = os.path.join(path, f"{random_str(24)}{ext}")
+            media._key = os.path.join(path, f"{random_str(24)}{ext}")
         return True
 
     def file_in_folder(self, path:str) -> str:
@@ -66,9 +66,4 @@ class S3Storage(Storage):
         resp = self.s3.list_objects(Bucket=self.bucket, Prefix=path, Delimiter='/', MaxKeys=1)
         if 'Contents' in resp:
             return resp['Contents'][0]['Key']
-        return False
-    
-    def max_file_length(self):
-        # Amazon AWS max file length is 1024, but we will use 1000 to be safe
-        return 1000
-
+        return False
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/tests/enrichers/test_pdq_hash_enricher.py b/tests/enrichers/test_pdq_hash_enricher.py
index a8470fb..61fa778 100644
--- a/tests/enrichers/test_pdq_hash_enricher.py
+++ b/tests/enrichers/test_pdq_hash_enricher.py
@@ -14,8 +14,8 @@ def enricher(setup_module):
 def metadata_with_images():
     m = Metadata()
     m.set_url("https://example.com")
-    m.add_media(Media(filename="image1.jpg", key="image1"))
-    m.add_media(Media(filename="image2.jpg", key="image2"))
+    m.add_media(Media(filename="image1.jpg", _key="image1"))
+    m.add_media(Media(filename="image2.jpg", _key="image2"))
     return m
 
 
diff --git a/tests/storages/test_S3_storage.py b/tests/storages/test_S3_storage.py
index fe60329..abf9763 100644
--- a/tests/storages/test_S3_storage.py
+++ b/tests/storages/test_S3_storage.py
@@ -37,10 +37,10 @@ class TestS3Storage:
     def test_get_cdn_url_generation(self):
         """Test CDN URL formatting """
         media = Media("test.txt")
-        media.key = "path/to/file.txt"
+        media._key = "path/to/file.txt"
         url = self.storage.get_cdn_url(media)
         assert url == "https://cdn.example.com/path/to/file.txt"
-        media.key = "another/path.jpg"
+        media._key = "another/path.jpg"
         assert self.storage.get_cdn_url(media) == "https://cdn.example.com/another/path.jpg"
 
     def test_uploadf_sets_acl_public(self, mocker):
@@ -72,7 +72,7 @@ class TestS3Storage:
         self.storage.random_no_duplicate = True
         mock_file_in_folder = mocker.patch.object(S3Storage, 'file_in_folder', return_value="existing_folder/existing_file.txt")
         media = Media("test.txt")
-        media.key = "original_path.txt"
+        media._key = "original_path.txt"
         mock_calculate_hash = mocker.patch('auto_archiver.modules.s3_storage.s3_storage.calculate_file_hash', return_value="beepboop123beepboop123beepboop123")
         assert self.storage.is_upload_needed(media) is False
         assert media.key == "existing_folder/existing_file.txt"
@@ -84,7 +84,7 @@ class TestS3Storage:
 
     def test_uploads_with_correct_parameters(self, mocker):
         media = Media("test.txt")
-        media.key = "original_key.txt"
+        media._key = "original_key.txt"
         mocker.patch.object(S3Storage, 'is_upload_needed', return_value=True)
         media.mimetype = 'image/png'
         mock_file = mocker.MagicMock()
diff --git a/tests/storages/test_atlos_storage.py b/tests/storages/test_atlos_storage.py
index bcd8f18..d33ff2f 100644
--- a/tests/storages/test_atlos_storage.py
+++ b/tests/storages/test_atlos_storage.py
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ def media(tmp_path) -> Media:
     file_path.write_bytes(content)
     media = Media(filename=str(file_path))
     media.properties = {"something": "Title"}
-    media.key = "key"
+    media._key = "key"
     return media
 
 
diff --git a/tests/storages/test_gdrive_storage.py b/tests/storages/test_gdrive_storage.py
index f5ff87c..d87f5e8 100644
--- a/tests/storages/test_gdrive_storage.py
+++ b/tests/storages/test_gdrive_storage.py
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ def test_get_id_from_parent_and_name(gdrive_storage, mocker):
 
 def test_path_parts():
     media = Media(filename="test.jpg")
-    media.key = "folder1/folder2/test.jpg"
+    media._key = "folder1/folder2/test.jpg"
 
 
 
diff --git a/tests/storages/test_local_storage.py b/tests/storages/test_local_storage.py
index 7282e03..1fd6774 100644
--- a/tests/storages/test_local_storage.py
+++ b/tests/storages/test_local_storage.py
@@ -4,9 +4,9 @@ from pathlib import Path
 
 import pytest
 
-from auto_archiver.core import Media
+from auto_archiver.core import Media, Metadata
 from auto_archiver.modules.local_storage import LocalStorage
-
+from auto_archiver.core.consts import SetupError
 
 @pytest.fixture
 def local_storage(setup_module, tmp_path) -> LocalStorage:
@@ -25,37 +25,32 @@ def sample_media(tmp_path) -> Media:
     """Fixture creating a Media object with temporary source file"""
     src_file = tmp_path / "source.txt"
     src_file.write_text("test content")
-    return Media(key="subdir/test.txt", filename=str(src_file))
+    return Media(filename=str(src_file))
 
-def test_really_long_website_url_save(local_storage, tmp_path):
-    long_filename = os.path.join(local_storage.save_to, "file"*100 + ".txt")
-    src_file = tmp_path / "source.txt"
-    src_file.write_text("test content")
-    media = Media(key=long_filename, filename=str(src_file))
-    assert local_storage.upload(media) is True
-    assert src_file.read_text() == Path(local_storage.get_cdn_url(media)).read_text()
+def test_too_long_save_path(setup_module):
+    with pytest.raises(SetupError):
+        setup_module("local_storage", {"save_to": "long"*100})
 
 def test_get_cdn_url_relative(local_storage):
-    media = Media(key="test.txt", filename="dummy.txt")
+    media = Media(filename="dummy.txt")
+    local_storage.set_key(media, "https://example.com", Metadata())
     expected = os.path.join(local_storage.save_to, media.key)
     assert local_storage.get_cdn_url(media) == expected
 
-
-
 def test_get_cdn_url_absolute(local_storage):
-    media = Media(key="test.txt", filename="dummy.txt")
+    media = Media(filename="dummy.txt")
     local_storage.save_absolute = True
+    local_storage.set_key(media, "https://example.com", Metadata())
     expected = os.path.abspath(os.path.join(local_storage.save_to, media.key))
     assert local_storage.get_cdn_url(media) == expected
 
 def test_upload_file_contents_and_metadata(local_storage, sample_media):
+    local_storage.store(sample_media, "https://example.com", Metadata())
     dest = os.path.join(local_storage.save_to, sample_media.key)
-    assert local_storage.upload(sample_media) is True
     assert Path(sample_media.filename).read_text() == Path(dest).read_text()
 
-
 def test_upload_nonexistent_source(local_storage):
-    media = Media(key="missing.txt", filename="nonexistent.txt")
+    media = Media(_key="missing.txt", filename="nonexistent.txt")
     with pytest.raises(FileNotFoundError):
         local_storage.upload(media)
 
diff --git a/tests/storages/test_storage_base.py b/tests/storages/test_storage_base.py
index fd07c32..30a91b9 100644
--- a/tests/storages/test_storage_base.py
+++ b/tests/storages/test_storage_base.py
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ def storage_base():
 
     ],
 )
-def test_storage_setup(storage_base, path_generator, filename_generator, url, expected_key, mocker):
+def test_storage_name_generation(storage_base, path_generator, filename_generator, url, expected_key, mocker):
     mock_random = mocker.patch("auto_archiver.core.storage.random_str")
     mock_random.return_value = "pretend-random"
 
@@ -92,7 +92,4 @@ def test_really_long_name(storage_base):
     url = f"https://example.com/{'file'*100}"
     media = Media(filename="dummy.txt")
     storage.set_key(media, url, Metadata())
-    assert len(media.key) <= storage.max_file_length()
-    assert media.key == "https-example-com-filefilefilefilefilefilefilefilefilefilefilefile\
-filefilefilefilefilefilefilefilefilefilefilefilefilefilefilefilefilefilefilefilefilefilefile\
-filefilefilefilefilefilefilefilefilefilefilefilefilefilefilefilefile/6ae8a75555209fd6c44157c0.txt"
\ No newline at end of file
+    assert media.key == f"https-example-com-{'file'*13}/6ae8a75555209fd6c44157c0.txt"
\ No newline at end of file